Places

The Babcock Foundation occasionally commissions learning papers to increase our board and staff knowledge of various pathways out of poverty, with a focus on the Southeastern US. This paper on jobs and economic development was begun in 2008 before the recession became apparent and completed as the recession unfolded and deepened. The paper recaps the history of economic and workforce development in the South with an equity lens. It describes the potential and limitations of an alternative approach called "job-centered development" to increase the number and availability of good jobs for Southerners.